Dark of the Moon (A Virgil Flowers Novel)

I'm a serious fan of Sandford's Prey novels. Bought this and thought it was awful in an exceptionally nasty way. Then I discover that the book was written "with" someone else. My personal opinion is that "someone else wrote the entire thing. SAD

In a shift from his main character, Lucas Davenport who plays a minor role, this novel features one of his team who investigates on his own a vicious murderer. The opening scene is terrifying. The complicated plot unfolds slowly with lots of twists. Consistent with Sandford's previous novels, there is much tedious police work to be done in an effort to determine who the killer is. The final scene is full of surprise. The culminating moment in the novel where the villain is pursued by the protagonist is exciting. This book is a fine addition to the series by the writer. I've purchased all of his books. It's recommended to those who like this type of novel or to those who are seeking a different treatment of detective stories, or just enjoy skillful writing with original plots.

First, this is not another installment in the "Prey" series that features Lucas Davenport, one of the most fully developed characters in modern fiction. Second, this may be only partially the product of John Sandford. The Acknowledgment states the novel "was written in cooperation wsith my friend Larry Millett . . ." Sounds like Sandford got more than just an idea or advance reading from Sandford. If indeed Sandford has taken on a co-author, he should have the decency to tell us so forthrightly. Virgil Flowers, a secondary character in recent Prey novels goes solo in this one. He still works for the Minnesota BCA and Lucas Davenport is his boss. But we read very litle of Lucas here and the interchange between the characters is practically non-existent. So Flowers, the perpetual I'll-do-it-my-way guy is in Bluestem Minnesota helping out his old buddy, Sheriff Jim Stryker, find a murderer who has burned an old man to death and killed another elderly couple, shooting out the eyes of the husband. Everyone is a suspect. The son of the old man, who happens to be the area's most hated multi-millionaire; the local newspaper editor; the Sheriff's sister (whom Flowers beds without adding to the story); the illegitimate daughter of the dead millionaire who suddenly proclaims her presence and entitlement to a chunk of the expected inheritance; a born-again Christian who used to be a criminal and maybe still is; a father-son brace of deputies who might be murderers and few others. In all, there are about a dozen primary characters, each of whom may be the murderer. Flowers, working almost alone, has to figure out who the bad guy (or gal) is. In all, it's a good, kind of old-fashioned "whodunit". It's definitely a change from the "Prey" series. The writing is excellent, but different than what I've come to expect from Sandford. The editing, on the other hand, sucks. A couple of times, you have to reread to figure out which character is speaking. In one instance, a couple is referred to as having children - a supposed fact that is contradicted later in the book. As a character, Flowers lacks the believability of Lucas Davenport. But it took at least a couple of "Prey" novels before Davenport started shaping up and Flowers is definitely off to a good start. The ending is a bit of a disppointment and because I don't like "spoilers", I'm not going to tell you why. It isn't much of a disappointment, but the close reader will see what I am talking about. On the whole, this is a good mystery, different in many subtle ways from the "Prey" series. But if you had never read a "Prey" novel, you wouldn't know the differences. Virgil Flowers is off to a good start as a character and I hope the we'll see more of him as a solo character in the future. By the same token, if Sandford has taken to using a co-author, I hope he has the decency to tell us so and to give the co-author proper credit. And I hope as well that we'll continue to see Lucas Davenport

I have enjoyed all the Prey book and also loved the Kidd series by Sandford. John Sandford is a good writer and story teller and that is what defines this book. The main character of Virgil Flowers is OK. I guess I feel that I need to read more about him to get to know him better. What was most interesting about this story is that Flowers is really the only person we know anything about as the story opens. We know Flowers is the good guy. But,we know nothing about any of the other townspeople so they are ALL suspects in the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. There were lots of interesting characters and many twists and turns during the investigation. The citizens of this town had many secrets. It was a very plot driven book and these are the types of stories I enjoy most. I look forward to reading more adventures with Virgil Flowers as the main character. I will be interested in learning more about him, his life and background.

Dark of the Moon is a new book by John Sandford, author of the great Lucas Davenport series. Sandford uses a co-author in this novel that features Virgil Flowers, a cop working with the Bureau of Criminal Aprehension where he is assigned the hardest cases. Flowers has been divorced a lot, is somewhat afraid of guns, and takes pride in wearing quirky t-shirts. The book opens as he is traveling south to investigate the murder of a harmless ederly couple when he drives upon a house being devoured by flames. The house was set on fire to cover up the murder of the ederly, feeble and hated Bill Judd. Virgil teams with Jim Stryker, an old buddy and the current sherriff, and they start investigating the crimes. A lot is going on in this novel. Stanford throws a lot at the reader. Dark of the Moon reads just like a Lucas Davenport book. Incredible plotting, tons of characters in the small town, you get to know the town and the feeling that everyone DOES know everyone else. Virgil is a funny guy, all Sandford books have an underlying humor to them. You can tell Sandford is having fun when he writes. Flowers hooks up with Stryker's sister Joan and has a good time with her, while at the same time wondering if Joan or Jim could be the killer. In fact, everyone Flowers encounters has a motive or a reason to be a killer. Sandford fans will love this book. It is fast pace and full of twists. Flowers' wit always keeps you entertained as well. With a new Davenport book due in the spring, fans of the author won't have long to wait for another great book. Hopefully, Sandford can continue to write novels featuring Flowers as well.